Vladimir Putin stresses that supplies of weapons will not change the situation in eastern Ukraine

XIAMEN /China/, September 5. /TASS/. Washington’s decision to supply lethal weapons to Ukraine is a sovereign one, though it won’t help resolve the situation just exacerbate the conflict, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday following BRICS summit.

"This is the United States’ sovereign decision - to sell weapons or supply them free of charge to a country that is not a recipient of this assistance. We cannot influence this development. However, there are generally accepted international rules and approaches. Supplying weapons to a conflict zone is not conducive to peace, it just aggravates the situation," Putin explained.

The Russian leader stressed that supplies of weapons will not change the situation in eastern Ukraine. On the contrary, these (moves) will lead to an increase in the number of casualties, he cautioned. Besides, Washington’s decision can indicate that the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics (DPR, LPR) have enough weapons of their own, including those captured from the enemy.

"If US weapons are delivered to the conflict zone, it is hard to say how the self-proclaimed republics will react. Perhaps, they will send the weapons they have to other conflict zones," Putin noted.